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Our Children are Facing Digital Dangers

Updated: Dec 1, 2022

Social media is part of our lives now and realistically we won’t ever be able to escape it. However, what concerns me the most is the exposure young kids have to social media and the effect it has on their mental health. Parents are faced with a challenge of raising their children in a screen-run world, and must adapt to the changing times to ensure their children are protected from the dangers of social media. The reason I bring this up is because I recently had a conversation with my 11 year old cousin about the videos she was watching on Tik Tok. To no surprise, the videos were not appropriate for her age. Most social media apps require a minimum age of 13 for their users, yet a report found that half of children 10-12 years old use social media. How can we control this better? Should it solely be a parent’s decision to decide when their children are able to start using social media?


The “Tide Pod Challenge” circulated the internet and led teenagers to bite into tide pods in order to release the liquid inside. Consequently, many teens were forced to receive medical care and the trend resulted in ten deaths. Children and teenagers really value the opinions and acceptance from their peers. There is a constant need for approval and the pressure to conform is very strong. Social media only amplifies this phenomenon.


“Teens are going through a period of enormous cognitive, emotional, and biological development. A combination of these factors can be so strong that they can seriously impact one’s decision-making. It can lead teens to consider engaging in dangerous activities for the opportunity to be part of a group or a community. Fear of saying “no” to peers or of being left out can lead a youth down a dangerous path.”


The desire to belong is extremely powerful and motivates people to sometimes make decisions that don’t align with their morals. I also think social media creates a false sense of belonging because people are constantly conforming to different trends and are posting what they think classifies them as “fitting in.” It’s almost an illusion of connectedness.


It’s concerning to see the effect of social media on children and teenagers’ mental health. According to Pew Research center, one in six teenagers have experienced abusive behavior online including name-calling, receiving unsolicited explicit images, and spreading false rumors. Those who feel social media has a negative influence on teenagers say it increases bullying and rumor mongering. We have all heard the term FOMO, also known as “fear of missing out.” While doing some research, I found that the term now has a new name: social media anxiety disorder. The ADAA says symptoms of social media anxiety disorder include stopping to check social media in the middle of a conversation or lying about the amount of time spent on social media.


It’s really hard to avoid falling into the negativity trap, but I think it's extremely important for young adults to understand what they see on social media isn’t real. Living in a digital world comes with many challenges. We are constantly distracted by what we see on social media and have to find ways to escape or navigate through the distractions. My biggest concern is that with every new generation, there comes greater exposure and more distraction. My younger cousin is already exposed to so much more than I was at her age, which makes me extremely worried for the future generations.





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Olivia Sheldon
Olivia Sheldon
Nov 30, 2022

Technology is already so scary for us (older, wiser, more experienced) since everything is so programmed by algorithms to get you hooked and keep you there, so by starting young minds on technology we are undoubtedly doing some serious damage to their development. I was looking into this story the other day about the way Andrew Tate has now infiltrated young minds as middle school teachers have been reporting their experiences with this as a warning to parents to monitor their children’s screens. They’re already independently thinking that women are inferior to men and are acting on their own accord on these demeaning lessons– doesn’t look good for our future.

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Diego Argueta
Diego Argueta
Nov 28, 2022

This is such an important topic of discussion in todays day and age. We previously discussed this issue in one of the lab days and I mentioned that witnessing this first hand with my younger cousins is extremely shocking and hard to see. It makes me wonder how this issue will only continue to worsen as technology begins to advance even more. For example, extended reality being introduced more and more throughout society. The question however is how do we go about addressing or developing a solution to this problem? It's almost a little hypocritical because we judge the younger generation, however we can't go about daily life without our cell phones. I know I am personally a victim/example o…

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Nick Nieva
Nick Nieva
Nov 28, 2022

I worked as a teacher for 6th graders a couple summers back, and the influence the digital world had on the kids was jarring to say the least. So many of the kids there were ridiculously incapable of reading comprehension and couldn't focus on anything for more than maybe 5 seconds. These were significantly worse and more noticeable in kids who spent all their time on their phones. I had to confiscate numerous phones because they were unable to stay off TikTok for the 3 total hours the school required them to not have phone access. The way social media influences conformity is bad enough, but it seems to me like the screen time is severely negatively impacting their brain's…

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Ali Ferhani
Ali Ferhani
Nov 21, 2022

I agree that reliance on digital devices is detrimental to the social and cognitive development of kids. Unfortunately, we're seeing this become almost unavoidable as many schools are providing personal smart devices to kids for "learning purposes". I remember in middle school we were all given school iPad and god was that a mistake. I used it for everything but school.

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Marguerite Scotti
Marguerite Scotti
Nov 21, 2022

I completely agree with this idea of how negative social media can be to people, especially for the younger generation. The point you brought up about it being an " illusion of connectedness" is also very true because even when I have "connected" with friends on Instagram is totally different than the feeling in person. Social media can give a fake idea of reality, misleading individuals as to how they should view and compare themselves to the world. We all know the harms of social media, yet it is such a hard habit to break.

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